Chapter Eighteen: Woo Him! Woo Him! Woo Him!

Standing outside the classroom, a few onlookers who had come with their own intentions happened to catch Qin Luo’s speech. Their blood surged with excitement, their throats dry, as if something inside them was about to burst forth.

Director Xiong adjusted the glasses on his nose with his finger and said to Chen Xiaoxue, “This is the student you mentioned?”

“Director, this—this was my mistake. I didn’t investigate properly. I didn’t expect he was truly a teacher. I’m sorry.” Chen Xiaoxue’s face was pallid and embarrassed, her gaze toward Lin Wanxi growing more venomous.

She shifted all the blame for her own awkward situation onto Lin Wanxi, refusing to accept any responsibility herself.

There are some people who never reflect on their own faults.

“Nonsense,” Director Xiong said angrily. “Ms. Chen, your duty is to do your job well. Try to spread fewer of these meaningless rumors in the future. They affect the relationships among colleagues, and they damage your own reputation as well.”

“Yes, Director. I’m very sorry.” Chen Xiaoxue nodded repeatedly.

“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Ms. Lin. Now, get back to work,” Director Xiong said, turning and heading off toward the School of Biomedical Engineering.

With a snort, Chen Xiaoxue cast a vicious glare at Qin Luo standing at the podium inside, then shot a look of disdain at Lin Wanxi before striding away on her high heels.

Throughout it all, Lin Wanxi’s expression did not change in the slightest.

She simply watched the man in the long robe at the front of the classroom with focused intensity. That robe—she’d bought it for him herself—and it looked so dashing and elegant on him.

This young man, his heart was so steadfast and generous.

His admonition to the students still echoed in her ears like thunder. That powerful declaration, “My medical skills are not so cheap,” was like a sharp blade, striking right at the most vulnerable part of the human heart.

In this vast and ancient land, the country’s treasures have languished for a hundred years, teetering on the edge of decline.

But—thank goodness. Thank goodness we have Qin Luo.

With someone like him, who could dare claim traditional medicine has no hope of resurgence?

With someone like him, who could dare say traditional medicine has no chance of flourishing?

With someone like him, the spirit and path of medicine will never die.

With someone like him, there is still boundless promise for traditional medicine.

At this moment, Lin Wanxi felt the strings of her heart trembling gently—like a breeze brushing through river willows, like a silver carp leaping from the water, like the pure tones of a Buddhist zither.

This feeling was warm and vivid, tearing open the dark clouds that had long shadowed her heart, letting light and nourishment in, parting the clouds to reveal the moon.

It was a beautiful feeling indeed.

Qin Luo had long since noticed Lin Wanxi and the others outside the classroom. All of this had gone exactly as he predicted. As a student well versed in psychology, he understood women like Chen Xiaoxue all too well, and could easily guess her intentions.

He smiled at Lin Wanxi standing outside the window, then addressed the students: “Now, I’m giving you a choice. This is your only chance. If you don’t want to take my traditional medicine course, you can leave right now. I mean what I say—come the final exam, even if you don’t answer a single question, I’ll still give you a passing mark of sixty.”

Everyone sat quietly; not a single person moved.

The man in the suit scanned the classroom and called out, “Anyone want to go out? Pizza Hut, my treat!”

In the past, such an invitation would have drawn a crowd. After all, Pizza Hut was still a luxury for most college students—not everyone could afford to eat there.

But this time, he was disappointed. No one answered; everyone simply stared at him coldly.

Only now did Suit Guy realize he had been isolated by the class.

He forced a gloomy smile, reached for his girlfriend’s hand, and said to Qin Luo, “This is just the beginning. You wait and see.”

Qin Luo didn’t bother to respond, walking over to open the classroom door.

“I’m not leaving. I want to stay for class. You go by yourself,” the girlfriend said, shaking off Suit Guy’s hand in annoyance.

“Bitch. Just you wait.” Refused by his own girlfriend in front of everyone, Suit Guy was utterly humiliated, his face twisted with resentment.

“Are you done yet? If you’re leaving, get on with it. What’s the point of all this noise?” The big guy who’d earlier demanded to see Qin Luo’s credentials cursed him angrily.

Ever since Qin Luo had pointed out his acne was caused by hormonal imbalance and written him a prescription, the big guy had become utterly devoted to him.

Everyone wants to be attractive, but not everyone is born with a beautiful face.

Suit Guy pointed at the big guy with a shaking finger, then stormed out.

Once Suit Guy was gone, Qin Luo smiled and asked again, “Is there anyone else who wants to leave? If not, from today on, you’re my students.”

“Teacher, we’re not leaving. Not even if you beat us.”

“Yeah, we’re not idiots. We’re in college—who doesn’t want to learn more?”

“Teacher, you’re so handsome—why would we want to leave? Just seeing you is a pleasure.”

“——”

Qin Luo could only smile wryly at the girls who claimed they were staying for his looks. “If you choose to stay, then study hard. If you don’t expect to score at least ninety-five on the exams, I’ll advise you to leave again.”

“Wow, Teacher, aren’t you being a bit strict?”

“I’ve never scored that high in my life!”

“Teacher, have a heart. We’re only staying because we love you.”

Qin Luo smiled at these bright, youthful faces. How could they know the path he had walked?

Since the age of three he’d recited the “Song of Decoctions,” at five he’d read the “Treatise on Cold Damage,” at ten, the “Materia Medica,” and from twelve onwards, he’d begun memorizing prescriptions—do you know how many medicinal herbs there are in China? And how many formulas can be made from them?

But under the stern demands of his grandfather Qin Zheng, Qin Luo never dared slack off. If he made a single mistake in reciting a herb or a formula, his grandfather would punish him by making him do handstands—of course, with a bowl of water balanced on each foot.

These kids were much more fortunate than he was.

“You have no right to bargain—because I am your teacher,” Qin Luo said sternly.

Suddenly, the phrase sounded familiar.

Back then, he too had resented his grandfather’s strictness. The old man would fix him with the same stern look and say, “You have no right to bargain with me, because I am your grandfather.”

The words he’d once resented so bitterly now felt oddly dear.

Qin Luo rapped on the podium to silence the murmurs below. “Put away your textbooks. Everything in those books, I already know. What I know, though, isn’t written there. From today on, I’ll teach you real traditional medicine.”

A flurry of movement as the students shoved their “Traditional Diagnosis” textbooks aside, faces alight with anticipation.

To have a teacher like this—damn, it was exhilarating.

***********************************************

As soon as the bell rang, and Qin Luo’s figure had disappeared, the classroom erupted.

The students had suppressed their excitement for too long—they couldn’t wait to share what they’d experienced.

“Oh my god! Teacher Qin is so handsome, so manly, so unique—I’m totally in love!” a girl squealed, clutching her friend’s arm. At their age, they were still prone to beautiful fantasies about love.

“Don’t be so lovesick, you’ll embarrass yourself. But… Teacher Qin really is tempting. And that long robe—just like Lu Xun—he’s so cool…”

“Hey, Meng, do you think Ma Heng might try something shady against Teacher Qin? We should keep an eye out. My whole future depends on him now,” a boy said, running up to the big guy.

“If he tries, I’ll wreck him,” Li Meng said, clenching his fists.

Watching the girls’ faces in the class flushed with infatuation, Wang Jiujui looked on with disdain and walked out.

By the lotus pond at the side of the teaching building, Wang Jiujui sat for a while in a daze, then took a small, delicate red cell phone from her pocket.

She dialed a number, and when the call connected, she shouted into the phone, “Zhang Yiyi, I’m in love! Love at first sight!”

A woman’s exasperated voice responded, “You little rascal, what kind of daughter calls her mother by her name? If you do it again, I’ll cut off your allowance for the month!”

“Go ahead and cut it off. I’ll just ask Dad instead. Wasn’t it you who made me call you Zhang Yiyi in the first place?” Wang Jiujui replied, curling her lip.

Wang Jiujui’s mother had given birth at a young age, and after having Wang Jiujui, she still acted like a young girl. No one would ever guess she was a married woman with children.

When Wang Jiujui was a bit older, whenever her mother took her out with friends, she’d insist her daughter call her “Auntie” or “Sister” and would claim Wang Jiujui was the child of a distant cousin.

Wang Jiujui resented this and called her mother by name. Later, even after everyone knew she was Zhang Yiyi’s daughter, she stubbornly persisted. Zhang Yiyi protested countless times; the two had fought over it more than once.

“All right, I’ll remember this for later. When you get home, I’ll deal with you. What did you just say? In love?—Heavens, my daughter, you’re in love? Whose poor kid did you set your sights on?”

“Zhang Yiyi, are you really my mother? I finally found what love feels like, and you’re making fun of me? I’m hanging up now,” Wang Jiujui said angrily.

“Hey, daughter, darling, precious baby, it was just a joke. My daughter is so beautiful—she takes after me, after all—any guy you choose is lucky beyond words. So, who is it? Your mother will support you all the way. Let me give you some advice: go for it!”

“He’s my teacher,” Wang Jiujui whispered.

“Go for it!” Zhang Yiyi said enthusiastically. “Wait—teacher?”

Wang Jiujui could hear her mother’s voice trembling slightly.

“Yes. The new teacher.”

“Hahaha! My daughter really does have unique taste. Even the men she likes are extraordinary.” Zhang Yiyi cackled on the other end, forcing Wang Jiujui to hold the phone away from her ear.

“Is he fifty?” Zhang Yiyi asked anxiously, after her laughter subsided.

“Zhang Yiyi, I’m being serious. Can you not joke for once? Otherwise, I’ll disown you as my mother!” Wang Jiujui stamped her foot in frustration; her mother was truly exasperating.

What kind of karma had her father accumulated in a past life to marry such a troublemaker?

“Hey now, I’m being serious too. If he’s over fifty, then forget it. If he comes to our house, should your father call him ‘son-in-law’ or ‘big brother’?”

Wang Jiujui burst out laughing. “Mom, you really are my mother. I admire you so much. Your imagination is just wild. He’s young—not even thirty.”

“A teacher under thirty? My dear, let me say it again: go for it! Go for it! If you can’t win him over, your mom will step in herself!”

“——” Wang Jiujui was left speechless, on the verge of tears.

If you step in, would he be my boyfriend or yours?